Abstract. Since precise linear actuators of a compliant parallel manipulator suffer from their inability to tolerate the transverse motion/load in the multi-axis motion, actuation isolation should be considered in the compliant manipulator design to eliminate the transverse motion at the point of actuation. This paper presents an effective design method for constructing compliant parallel manipulators with actuation isolation, by adding the same number of actuation legs as the number of the DOF (degree of freedom) of the original mechanism. The method is demonstrated by two design case studies, one of which is quantitatively studied by analytical modelling. The modelling results confirm possible inherent issues of the proposed structure design method such as increased primary stiffness, introduced extra parasitic motions and cross-axis coupling motions.

This paper proposes a general method for the design of compliant parallel robots that can be actively controlled by linear actuators. This method firstly designs an original robot with desired mobility and then adds actuation legs in an appropriate way. Analytical modelling has been carried out to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the method.

This paper proposes a general method for the design of compliant parallel robots that can be...